The Devil You Know
by anyadoll
Summary: Mei Chen made a deal with the devil long ago, and now that deal has come back to bite her. Especially when she can't go through with killing her target.


**A/N: **This is one of those strange character stories I thought up on my way to work. It's a little out of left field, and maybe out of character, but it's kind of nagging at me to be written. It's set about 2 years in the future, and follows the plotline of the finale. Leland hasn't been figured out, and Mei Chen is working for him in a freelance capacity. And since we know Mei Chen's father and sister are dead, I'm gonna play with that as well. Also, I'm leaving it kind of ambiguous so you can take the ending how you choose. That's my intention. "Trust Me (You Don't Wanna See This) lyrics by Lucy Woodward.

**The Devil You Know**

_I'm not who you think I am_

_Let go_

_Get out while you can_

_Trust me, you don't_

_You don't wanna see this_

_I'll be trying everything_

_Knee deep into anything_

_Trust me, you don't_

_You don't wanna see this…_

XOX

Shady meetings in black limos on darkened street corners were becoming a standard in her line of work, Mei Chen thought as she slid across the black leather, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap.

"You called?"

Leland Strand nodded. "Things are progressing quickly now. We're approaching the finish line. It is time to start taking care of our key players. I've held off assigning this particular target to anyone but you. I thought you would rather relish the opportunity."

Mei Chen was curious, but kept her expression neutral. "Is that so?"

Leland opened the briefcase that sat to the side of him, extracting a thin folder. "I assumed you wouldn't need any information regarding this target," he answered her unspoken question, as she eyed the thinness of the folder. He held the file out to her.

She took it; a little wary it would be Gabriel's face staring up at her. "It's not…"

"Gabriel? No. I'm not foolish enough to attempt that. Wouldn't want to arouse suspicions considering my daughter's proclivity for finding things out. She's already asking questions she shouldn't," Leland commented, waving at the file. "But sending a message, that's my intention."

Mei Chen opened the file, eyes going a bit wide.

"You want me to dispatch Riley Neal?"

Leland gave her a look. "Sends a message, does it not? I know you have a stake in this. With her out of the way, progress of your own has a chance to…flourish."

Mei Chen nodded, handing the file back to him, her face impassive. "Yes, it does."

"Then I'll be seeing you soon."

XOX

She followed Gabriel's guardian until she knew every aspect of her routine, even though the secret service agent varied it wildly. Mei Chen caught on to the subtle pattern over time. What routes she ran in the morning, various places she picked up coffee, how long it took her to inspect their car and Gabriel's apartment before they headed to work, even altering the roads they'd take.

Mei Chen found herself giving the agent a grudging respect for her evasive tactics.

She was posted on the roof of Riley's building. The young agent didn't spend much time in her own apartment, a fact that hadn't escaped Mei Chen's in depth observations.

She chipped Riley's cell phone, using the speakers to hear their conversation.

"Any requests?" she heard Gabriel ask, watching him walk to the fridge. "I've got beer or crappy red wine I don't remember buying."

Riley came into view, setting plates and silverware in the sink. "Just water, early day tomorrow," she replied.

"Not _that_ early," he cajoled, coming to stand behind her, far too close for just friends, and much too close for colleagues. Mei Chen narrowed her gaze.

When Gabriel's arms moved to encircle her waist, Mei Chen felt her heart sink with a spark of anger. Did Leland know about this? Was that why he chose now to have her take care of the protector, because they were…involved?

Mei Chen looked away for a moment. There should be more gratification in being paid to take out her competition. This felt more like cheating, she realized. And her fondness for Gabriel was more a means to an end than that of any actual love, in that regard. They were the ones with the chips. It was only right they share an understanding, a bond like no other.

Apparently she'd underestimated his protector's charms.

"Early enough, Gabriel. Besides, Dr. Cassidy said you needed to rest after the blow you took to the head yesterday. Don't make me tell him you're not following his orders. Think of all those tests he'll put you through," Riley smirked, knowing she'd won the argument.

"Just had to pull the Cassidy card, didn't you. Tattletale," he muttered, but turned her around to face him. "You should get some rest too though, that guy did a number on you," Gabriel said, stroking what Mei Chen assumed was a black eye, though it was hard to see from her angle. Riley flinched a little.

"Couple bumps and bruises never stopped me," she replied. "Though I would have appreciated him not kicking me in the ribs."

Worry flooded Gabriel's face.

"I'm fine, Gabriel. Stop looking at me like that. They're just sore," Riley pleaded, putting her hands on either side of his face and bringing his lips to hers for a searing kiss Mei Chen couldn't watch.

Gabriel pulled back, resting their foreheads together. "If you were really hurting, you'd let me know, right?"

Riley nodded. "I promise, Gabriel."

"Riley, I'm serious. You make a big fuss over me all the time. Let me take care of you too. You matter too much to me," he whispered.

"I know," she said sincerely. "I promise, I'm fine. Go get some sleep. I'll be there when I'm done with these," she gestured to the dishes. He eyed her warily, but relented, kissing her forehead gently before walking to his bedroom.

She was alone.

Mei Chen reached back for the sniper rifle, propping it on the buildings ledge. She fiddled with the trajectory, trying to get a good line of sight. She breathed, realizing how ragged it had become. She rested her finger on the trigger.

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

She looked through the rifle's sight, taking aim at the woman that had become the bane of her existence.

Riley turned the sink on, glancing behind her towards the bedroom door. She was always calm and cool, steady in times of distress. It was an admirable quality.

But Mei Chen watched as the strong woman crumbled, pressing a hand over her mouth to suppress the sound of her sobs while clutching her ribs.

Mei Chen pulled back from the rifle, startled.

She wasn't holding her ribs.

Chipping the hospitals in the area, she found Riley's file, quickly skimming until she found the incident that occurred the day prior. They'd needed to do X-rays on her ribcage. The hospital was required to give her a pregnancy test to confirm they could actually do the X-rays.

There were no X-rays in her file.

There were results of a different kind.

"Oh my god," Mei Chen said aloud, hands falling away from the rifle in shock. She took the gun apart shakily, before sitting down hard on the ground.

She pressed her lips together, leaning back and closing her eyes. Gabriel was alone right now. She had a very small window of opportunity.

XOX

Gabriel pulled on sweatpants, foregoing a tee shirt as he tossed the clothes he'd worn that day into the hamper. He was concerned about Riley. She was acting strange, and he knew she was in more pain than she was admitting too. Her selflessness was a virtue, but he was afraid it would get her killed one day.

That was not a thought he wanted to dwell on.

He turned, moving to pull back the bed sheets when he realized something was off.

Mei Chen stood across from him, leaning against the wall.

Gabriel clenched his fists, tensing. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not here Gabriel, we're in my head," she said in the seductive voice she only reserved for him. "And we need to talk."

"I don't think so," he replied darkly.

"Oh don't worry, your girlfriend has her own problems to deal with," she huffed, trailing a hand across her render, changing it as she did. They stood in a bright park, near a duck pond. He glanced over, ready to ask her why they were here, but he was taken aback by her appearance.

Her normally severe updo was gone; instead her black hair was loose and falling gently down her shoulders. The breezy, pale blue sundress she wore threw him even more. She looked…soft. Almost gentle, despite what he knew of her aggressive personality.

"Care to explain…this?" He asked, gesturing to her strange appearance

She sighed, sitting on a bench facing the pond. "I didn't used to be this way," she started, gazing across the park. Gabriel reluctantly sat next to her. "My government killed my father, for his disobedience. They wanted him to take out an orphanage they suspected was hiding spies, traitors to the government. They didn't want him to leave _any_ witnesses. My father dispatched the men, but wouldn't kill the children. They burned it to the ground anyway, and executed my father."

"Why are you telling me this?" Gabriel asked, curious about the sudden switch in her motives.

"I make no apologies for the people I've killed over the years. All of them had it coming, sooner or later. But there are lines even I won't cross," Mei Chen said evenly.

"I don't understand Mei Chen. What does this have to do with you invading my head?" Gabriel tried again.

She looked over at him, a little sadly. The expression on her face was determined though. "I made a deal with the devil two years ago, and it's about to catch up with me Gabriel."

Gabriel sighed. "And what do you want me to do about it?"

"Nothing. I brought you here to warn you. The candidate Adam Weatherly was protecting, the one you've been looking for so desperately, is my employer. He was the one that had me frame you for the murders of those three men so long ago. He's closer to you than you think, Gabriel. And I'm afraid he knows more that he's letting on," she said carefully. His eyes flitted over her face, searching for any trace of manipulation or dishonesty, but he could find none.

"You're serious," he said. "What do you know? Who is he?"

Mei Chen shook her head. "I can't tell you that. But his endgame is coming, Gabriel. I would keep your friends close."

Something in her voice had him grabbing her shoulder forcefully.

"You mean Riley, don't you?"

She said nothing.

"Now is not the time to play coy, Mei Chen," Gabriel ground out. His eyes bore holes through her, but she didn't flinch. Gabriel sucked in a breath when the thought came crashing down on him. "This candidate, he hired you to kill Riley…"

He was met with an excruciating silence again.

Gabriel knit his forehead. "You haven't killed her," he stated knowingly. "Why?"

She rolled her eyes, staring out at the placid, rendered pond.

"My father was a hard man, but he stood by what he believed in. He knew what they'd do to him and he still refused to kill innocent children. Even I have morals, Gabriel," Mei Chen said firmly.

"I don't understand," he bit out, frustrated.

She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "I'm not about to start killing babies."

"What does that have to do with Riley?"

Mei Chen stood abruptly, Gabriel following. He grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. She wound her arm around his neck, pulling him down to kiss him soundly.

She wouldn't get the chance again.

"Think about it. Then figure out who's close enough to you to want your girlfriend dead."

The render dissipated, leaving him lost and confused. Someone close to him had hired Mei Chen to kill Riley, but she couldn't go through with it. Mei Chen, who couldn't stand Riley, considered her inferior to them.

Her words filtered through his head, recalling their absurd conversation.

_There are lines even I won't cross._

_Keep your friends close._

_I'm not about to start killing babies._

The story about her father. Her sudden developing morals. Any reasons she could have for not killing Riley surpassed him.

_I'm not about to start killing babies._

All of sudden it hit him, every inch of his body going ice cold. He left his room in a daze, seeking out the woman that was a walking target. She hadn't told him what the doctors said about her X-rays on her ribs; she'd played it off, claiming they were just sore. He was chipping her hospital record before he knew it, searching, when he found confirmation.

XOX

Mei Chen opened her eyes across the way, swallowing hard. She'd lost her chance.

But then, she never had one, did she.

Gabriel would never be hers. She stood up, using the roof's ledge for support, observing the couple whose lives were about to change.

Gabriel's stunned expression was evident. So he'd figured it out. She watched as he gently set his hands on Riley's shoulders. Even though she'd calmed down sufficiently, Mei Chen could tell her eyes were still red rimmed, could see tears streaking her face.

She didn't bother chipping the conversation. She knew what was being said.

Gabriel's mouth moved, offering what Mei Chen could only assume was his support, that he'd be there for her, that he was ecstatic. And she could tell he was. This was a chance he'd missed with his first wife. Gabriel was a family man, loyal to the core. Nothing would stop him from figuring out who the candidate was, not if Riley and their baby's lives were at stake.

For people like them, everything always worked out. The prince saved the princess. They caught the evildoers. They lived happily ever after.

Riley's hand rested protectively on her flat stomach, as if she was trying to hold everything in. Her shoulders shook as Gabriel placed his hand over hers, smiling brightly. Riley threw her arms around his neck, and he pulled her in, holding her as close as he could.

XOX

Mei Chen left, not looking back.

For people like her, things didn't work out so well. She'd long ago made a deal with the devil.

And now she couldn't deliver.

Then again, she'd never liked happy endings.

XOX

Leland closed the door, stopping when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

Mei Chen glared back from the darkness.

"That didn't take nearly as long as I suspected it would. Can't say I'm surprised," he laughed. Her skin crawled.

"Don't be. I didn't kill her. She's pregnant," Mei Chen said stiffly, pacing. "But you knew that."

"Going soft on me? I thought we had a deal," Leland answered, perturbed by the indignation in her voice.

"We did. Now we don't. I don't kill children Leland. You should know why. I know I'm not the only one that does my homework."

Leland sighed, shrugging off his coat and hanging it up by the door. He moved inside, grasping a decanter full of bourbon and pouring himself a glass. "Care for a drink?"

Mei Chen shot him a dark look, arms crossed.

"I guess I should have known you'd fail me eventually. Still, if they hadn't have been attacked by my men yesterday the X-rays wouldn't have been necessary and she wouldn't have found out the wonderful news. And my suspicions wouldn't have been confirmed. Would you have killed her, if you hadn't known?"

"That's beside the point. Why kill her now? What has she—what have _they_—done to deserve that?" Mei Chen countered.

Leland sipped the bourbon with closed eyes, taking in its warmth. "Would you like to know the fundamental difference between you and Agent Neal?"

"I'm bad and she's good?" Mei Chen mocked sourly.

"That's far too black and white an observation Miss Chen," Leland began, chuckling as they circled each other. "See, it's something I've carefully studied over the years as I watched and waited for the perfect moment to arrive. You remind him that he is a machine. That he's different, damaged, somehow. But Riley? She reminds him he's human. And now he has all the more reason to believe he is."

Leland pulled the gun from his waistband, aiming at her. Mei Chen smiled knowingly, stilling her movement and letting the moment wash over her.

"They'll never be safe. And no one will ever know what truly happened here. I'm sorry you couldn't see that."

Mei Chen shrugged, smiling. Leland Strand had underestimated her, and that was a fault he'd have to live with once he realized what she'd done. What she'd been able to send Gabriel.

"I don't much care for happy endings anyway," she whispered.

The lone shot echoed across the darkness.

XOX


End file.
